Miner&#39;s cap



T. R. JONES MINER'S CAP Julie 21, 1938.7

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 5, 19:57

T. JONES June 21, 1938.

'5 CAP Filed April 5, 1957 MINER .2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 21, 1938 PATENT OFFICE MINE-RS cAP Thomas R. Jones, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Application April 5, 1937, Serial No. 135,145

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a miner's cap so constructed as to protect the minerfs headagainst injury from falling objects and also to protect against electrical shocks when the cap comes in contact with electrically charged conductors or apparatusin the mines.

In carrying out the invention, I provide a crown for the hat composed of rigid or semi-rigid insulating material, preferably hard fibre, and to this is secured a rim of similar material which supports the visor. to the crown, a strip of felt or other soft material and a covering therefor are stitched to the inner side of the rim, the strip and covering forming acushion between the wearers head and therim. To the inner side of the rim, above the cushioning strip, are also stitched head-protecting flaps and two bands of flexible water-proof materiah The rim is then stitched to the crown, the stitches passing through the covering for the cushion strip, the head-protecting flaps and the bands of water-proof material. One of these bands is relatively wide and is folded around the outer side and edges of the rim, covering all of the aforesaid stitches. The visor is sewed to the rim through this latter band, and the other band, which is relatively. narrow, is folded downwardly and covers the stitches which connect the visor to the rim. Thus, all of the stitches which connect the parts together are covered by waterproof material, so that. moisture cannot enter the needle holes from the outer side of the rim, or pass through from theinner side of the rim, and consequently the electrical current cannot pass through the needle openings to the wearers head.

9 In the accompanying drawings,

Fig; 1 isa central vertical section through a cap taken fromfront to rear;

Fig. 2 is a top perspective view of the cap; Fig. 3 is a central transverse section through the cap, the head supports being shown in full lines;

Fig. 4 is a side view of the fibre band which forms the rim of the cap and bywhich all of the fittings, including the visor are attached to the crown;

Fig. 5 is an end view of the same;

. Fig. 6 is a side View ofthefibre rim with the cushioning strip and'its protective covering sewed thereon;

Fig. 7 is an end View of the same;

Fig. 8 is an inner side View of the fibre rim with the protective coveringfolded around the cushioning strip and with the outerx,covering for the rim, th e outer seam-covering strip and the headprotecting-flaps sewed on the rim;

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 99 of Fig. 8, showing the parts sewed to the crown;

Fig. 10 is a similar view, on a larger scale,

Before the rim is attached.

showing the parts sewed to the crown, only a por- U tion of the latter being shown;

Fig. 11 is a section on the line H-H of Fig. 8, on an enlargedscale, showing the parts attached to the crown, a. part only of the latter being shown, the coverings for the band and the stitch ing being shown in dotted lines in their folded positions, and,

Fig. 12 is a side view of the cap with the covering for the fibre band turned downwardly thereover and the visor of the cap stitched to the band and covering, the protecting covering for said stitching being shown as it appears before being turned down, as in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawings, or represents the .1

The rim a, as shown in Fig. 4, has a part out i away on a long curve at its central portion, as shown at 2. Before the rim it attached to the crown, certain fittings are sewed to it. A cushion band b of felt is first attached to the rim. by a row of stitches 3 and a row of stitches 4 which latter also secures one edge of a fabric covering .0 for said cushion to the opposite side of the rim. The cushion band extends over the cut away portion of the fibre rim, leaving this portion of the band, which fits against the wearers forehead in the completed cap, soft and yielding.

After the cushion band b and its covering e have been sewed to the rim, the covering is turned under the rim and thence upwardly over the face of the band and its free edge is laid against the rim above the cushion band, as shown in Fig. 9, and also in Figs. 10 and 11. A relatively wide strip of strong water-proof fabric (2 is arranged with one edge overlying the upper edge of the covering 0 and a narrower strip of water-proof fabric 2 is arranged over the strip d and a row of stitches 5 connects these two strips and the upper edge of the covering 0 to the fibre rim. At 01)- .positesides of the center of the rim, the head.- protecting flaps), which are of tapering form. have their broader ends arranged between the strip 11 and the edge of the covering 0 and these flaps are also secured to the rim by the row of stitches 5.

After these parts have been secured to the rim, as shown in Fig. 9, the rim is secured to the crown of the cap by a row of stitches I which also pass through the covering 0, the flaps j and the fabric strips d and e. The flaps are then turned upwardly and fastened together, as shown in Fig. 3,

and the strip d is turned downwardly, covering the outer face of the rim and the stitches therein, and thence upwardly forming a sweat-band within the hat, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 11 and in full lines in Figs l, 3 and 12. The visor of the cap is sewed on to the rim after the strip d has been turned downwardly and before it is turned upwardly into the cap, the stitches 6, Figs. 1 and 12, passing through the visor, the strip d and the rim. The narrow strip e, shown in its upwardly extending position in Fig. 12, is then turned downwardly over the upper portion of the strip (1, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, covering the stitches 5, so that all of the rows of stitches in the cap are covered.

"Miners caps, at the present time, have to pass a relatively high voltage test. One possible source of current leakage is through the holes made by the needles which sew the parts together, if the stitches therein become saturated with moisture either from the atmosphere in the mine or from perspiration from the wearers head. Therefore, the cap of the present invention is so constructed that all of the stitches which would otherwise be exposed on the outer side of the cap are completely covered by the bands of water-proof material. The crown of the cap and the protective head flaps are perforated to provide ventilation for the wearers head but even though there is moisture within the cap from perspiration it cannot pass through the needle holes to the outer side of the cap because of the outer covering for the stitches, and on the inner side of the cap the sweat-band intervenes between the wearers head and the rows of stitching.

The crown of the cap, which is preferably 'made of hard fibre, suitably water-proofed, must withstand severe mechanical tests. Therefore the crown, which is oblong at its margin, to conform to the shape of the head, slopes upwardly in conical shape from the marginal portion a to a blunt apex at the center of the crown, and the sloping wall of the crown has corrugations a radiating from its central portion and terminating near the marginal portion which is left smooth in order that the rim and other attachments may be sewed to it.

What I claim is:

I 1. A miners cap comprising a crown and a rim, both of stiff insulating material, the lower margin of the crown fitting within the upper margin of the rim and stitched to the latter, and a band of flexible water-proof material secured between the margins of the crown and rim and extending over the outer side of the rim and covering the stitches.

2. A miners cap comprising a crown and a rim, both of stiff insulating material, the lower margin of the crown fitting within the upper margin of the rim and stitched to the latter, a band of flexible water-proof material secured between the margins of the crown and rim and extending over the outer side of the rim and covering the stitches which connect the crown and rim, a visor stitched to the rim through said band, and a second band of water-proof material covering the latter stitches.

3. A miners cap comprising a crown and a rim, both of stiff insulating material, the latter stitched to the former, a relatively wide band and a relatively narrow band of insulating material each having one edge fitting between the crown and rim and stitched thereto, said wide band being folded around the outer side of the rim and covering the stitches and extending into the cap, forming a sweat band, a visor stitched to the rim through said wide band, and said narrow band being folded around the upper part of the wide band and covering the last mentioned stitches.

4. A miners cap comprising a crown and a rim, both of stiff insulating material, the lower margin of the former extending within the upper margin of the latter, relatively wide and narrow bands of flexible water-proof material, each sewed along one of its margins to the upper margin of the rim at the inner side thereof, a row of stitches connecting said rim and bands to the crown, said relatively wide band covering the outer side and edges of the rim and extending upwardly into the hat, forming a sweat band, a visor stitched to the rim through said lastmentioned band, and said relatively narrow band overlying the relatively wide band and extending downwardly on the outer side thereof and covering the stitches which secure the visor to the rim.

5. A miners cap comprising a crown and a rim, both of stiff insulating material, the lower margin of the crown fitting within the upper margin of the rim, relatively wide and narrow bands of flexible water-proof material and oppositely disposed head-protecting flaps, each of said bands and flaps being sewed along one of its margins to the upper margin of the rim at the inner side thereof, a row of stitches connecting said rim and bands and flaps to the crown, said relatively wide band covering the outer side and edges of the rim and extending upwardly into the hat, forming a sweat band, a visor stitched to the rim through said last-mentioned band and said relatively narrow band overlying the relatively wide band and extending downwardly on the outer side thereof and covering the stitches Which secure the visor to the rim.

6. A miners cap comprising a crown and a rim, both of stiff insulating material, a strip of cushioning material stitched to the inner side of said rim, a protective fabric strip stitched to said rim and covering the cushioning material, relatively wide and narrow bands of flexible water-proof material, each sewed along one of its margins to the upper margin of the rim at the inner side thereof, a row of stitches connecting said rim and bands to the crown, said relatively wide band covering the outer side and edges of the rim and. extending upwardly into the hat, forming a sweat band, a visor stitched to the rim through said last-mentioned band, and said relatively narrow band overlying the relatively wide band and extending downwardly on the outer side thereof and covering the stitches which secure the visor to the rim.

'7. A miners cap having an oblong cone-shaped crown of stiff insulating material, a rim of similar material sewed to the outer side of the margin of the crown, and head flaps secured to the inner side of the rim between the latter and the margin of the crown and extending into the cap, said flaps having ventilating openings therethrough.

THOMAS R. JONES. 

